maskormenacelogs | [semi-open]

[It's a nice place, reminds him a little bit of really nice college dorms or less sterile hotel rooms. Eddie doesn't have much stuff to put in the empty cupboards, just a his file folder in the top drawer of his desk, and a few clothes in the closet.

It feels impossible, wrapping his head around what's going on here, trying to process it. Only very recently has his world started to include things like meta-humans, speedsters, time travel, anomalies, and descendants from the past. Mixing travel between worlds and a place where the Cold War never ended is a little much.

But he's had a few days to process. To acknowledge that he's not dead, but he can't go home, even if there was a way to do it. So now that Heropa's free and clear and he can move into his permanent residence, he does it, determined to try to make a home of it.

So he changes into casual clothes, just a T-shirt, a pair of sweats, and pads down into the kitchen to scope out the food situation. A snack would be nice, and maybe he'll have a chance to meet one or more of his housemates. Still, distracted by digging around in the fridge, he doesn't hear footsteps behind him until the other person is in the kitchen.

Standing up straight, he turns with a bit of a smile.]

Hey... [He trails off, his expression going blank for a moment before the smile comes back.] Allen.

[ Barry's been missing Cisco in between everything else, but he knows that there's a good chance that he's just been ported out. So he doesn't let it bother him too much but it's a little lonely in the house and when he hears noise from the kitchen he assumes that it means that Cisco is back.

It's that fact that makes him run— at a normal person's speed— down the stairs and into the kitchen. He's not quite paying attention and can really only tell that it's someone digging around in the fridge. He thinks about saying something, like hello but decides it's better and maybe a bit more amusing to startle what he thinks is Cisco.

Barry's mouth opens to say something when Eddie actually straightens up and just stays open after he realizes that Eddie is standing right in front of him. There's been enough time between when Eddie shot himself to save him or everyone, but it's still a rush to see the man standing in front of him alive. In his house. In Heropa.

If Barry had any doubts that the people who assigned housing here didn't assign people because they thought they'd be hilarious combinations— they'd be put to rest right now. Barry shakes his head for a second before rubbing his hand through his hair and smilling.

He will not cry, he can keep it together. ]

Eddie. [ A pause. ] I thought you were Cisco. Or James stealing the Oreos again. Not that I'm not— really glad to see you but— [ Nope not gonna go the tactless route. ] When did you get here?

[The intention was to apologize for looking for a snack in a communal fridge he hadn't contributed to - Eddie remembers college, after all, and shared kitchens. To pleasantly smile and ask if he can borrow something, to promise to replace it tomorrow. He wasn't expecting to see Barry standing there in the door to the kitchen, his hand sliding through his hair and a smile on his face.

It's not his usual smile. It's a smile he's seen on Barry's face before, but never directed at him. Sort of nostalgic, a little sad - there's no question in his mind about why he's seeing it now.

Pushing the door to the fridge shut with his foot, he laughs softly and listens Barry out, rubbing at the back of one calf with the bare foot of the opposite leg.]

Hey Barry. [It's almost a little sheepish, and he leans against the fridge.]

Sorry to wake you up I just...wanted a snack. I'll replace it tomorrow.

[Lifting his gaze a little, he meets Barry's eyes.]

Um, just a few days ago, but I couldn't come to the house because something was going on in Heropa. [A beat, a heavy exhalation.] So you and Cisco both live here?

Hey Eddie. [ Never mind that he already said Eddie's name— it just seems like he needs to say it again. Maybe saying it enough will make it sink in— or have a reverse Beetlejuice effect. Eddie's laugh is what jostles him from his thoughts running a mile a minute and stops him from apologizing about what happened and stops him from telling him that they're all fine and Iris is fine because of him and Ronnie.

There will be time for that later, but right now they're in a kitchen together and the only reason they know that they're living in the same house is because Eddie was raiding the fridge. ]

It's fine. I wasn't asleep and I can pick up something after work, actually. You don't have to replace it when you you just got here. [ He owes Eddie that much at the very least. Eddie saying why he just got to the house makes sense, since Barry had been kind of stuck outside of Heropa on accident so he doesn't really comment on that.

When Eddie asks about Cisco, Barry's face scrunches up a bit. ] Yeah! I— I mean I think he's just ported out for right now so he's not here right now but I mean I was gone for a week in December— so he should be back soon. [ A beat and Barry moves a little closer to the fridge and Eddie before he says a little more. ] We used to have some other roommates but they left. They're not back home in their worlds, I think, but you're allowed to move out and they didn't want to stay.

[ He sighs and shakes his head before trying to give Eddie a proper smile. A happy one, instead of whichever one he knows he's giving him. ] It's really good to see you here. Even if you are raiding the fridge.

[Barry looks like a deer caught in headlights. Like his brain is going a mile a minute - and it probably is, Barry is fast, and he's smart, and he's probably processing things. Eddie doesn't blame him for the way he looks at him, or the way he talks, with his words kind of awkward and falling over themselves.

After all, Eddie's dead, at home. Barry watched him die. Seeing him here must be beyond strange, maybe even a little traumatizing, especially if Cisco isn't here and used to be. His features are soft, empathetic as he lets Barry ramble it out. Talk about Cisco and his own absence and the other roommates that moved out. It's all a little muddled and Eddie can clearly tell there are other things on his mind, in the background.]

Thanks, Barry. [About the food.] But don't worry. I intend to pull my weight. They gave me a job, too, you know.

[A little smile, and he takes a deep breath, letting it out as Barry finally smiles and says it's good to see him.]

You too, Barr. [A beat, and he swallows, hard, meeting the speedster's eyes.] Has it been a while, for you?

[ He has to consciously make his thoughts slow down, which is why he looks like a deer in the headlights. He wants to make sure he thinks all of this through slowly for once.

It's not that he's traumatized by seeing Eddie, after all, he had fantasies of Eddie still being alive and Team Flash being what it was supposed to be without ( or he wished ) Eobard. It's just that it feels almost like a dream, that if he blinks Eddie's going to disappear and then Barry will remind himself that things are mostly back to normal now at home— he doesn't need to be imagining things like Eddie being here in Heropa. ]

Yeah, but you have to go to it before you get paid. [ He jokes. ] Until then, consider mi food is su food.

[ Barry shifts a little, not quite bouncing on his feet, but something slower. He looks down before looking back up at Eddie when he answers. He resists the urge to bite his lip in nervousness. ] It's— Christmas 2015 for me. So you know, about six months or so. It was a little rough for a while. [ Too long when it was Iris and Caitlin who lost the men they loved and all Barry lost was just friends. ] But it's gotten better.

Weirder, but better.

Edited (oh my god i keep seeing typos ) 2016-01-25 21:24 (UTC)

[Barry is stuck for a few moments, he can see it. Can see the wheels turning in his head, can see the things he's trying to process so quickly, before he speaks again. And then when he does, it's casual things, pleasantries almost, and Eddie's worried for a moment that maybe Barry's angry at him, after all. For doing that without asking first. For whatever happened afterward.

Forcing a slight smile, he nods, waiting for the other shoe to drop, for them to move past the surface stuff so he can figure out where he stands with Barry. And then he bounces on his feet and and explains how long it's been, nervously, and Eddie doesn't think Barry's mad at him. Not when he says it was rough for a while, but that it's gotten weird, but better.

He smiles, after a moment, exhaling a breath and pushing away from the fridge, moving toward Barry, and stopping just in front of him.]

Thanks. I'll pay you back, promise. [A beat, and then.] I'm sorry. For everything. For it being rough. I just wanted to protect you, all of you.

[He pauses for a long moment, takes a deep breath and then reaches out, pulls Barry into a quick hug.]

[ It's late, really late Friday night, probably technically Saturday morning by now, and Cisco's finally coming back. Heropa's usual warmer weather has given way to a chilly winter rainstorm, and having to walk back from the porter has left Cisco cold, wet, and too tired to properly process the extra information being ported back in after being home had shoved back into his brain.

Surely this is a great time for him to run into new and exciting housemates. ]

[Eddie jerks awake when he hears somebody entering the house. He'd just fallen asleep an hour or so before, fitfully, and he hasn't been sleeping great since he got here - stress and being unused to sharing a place with anyone but Iris has left him a little jumpy at night sometimes.

Getting up, he makes his way down to the main room, wearing a robe over his tank top and boxers, glancing around corners until he spots Cisco dripping in the entry way.

He brightens.]

Cisco!

[ Cisco's making himself a cup of coffee by the time Eddie comes downstairs. It's late enough, he figures. He might as well get some work done in the garage instead of getting a couple hours of sleep before he actually goes to work. He could hear Eddie on his way down the stairs, but he was expecting Barry, not— ]

Eddie! Whoa, uh. Hey...

[It's a relief to see Cisco. Barry had told him he was here, obviously, but that he was ported out for a bit. As much as he probably shouldn't be pleased that Cisco's in this weird alternate dimension with him, it's nice to see him. To not be alone in a weird place.

So when Cisco turns around and looks at him, he offers him a bright smile.]

Hey! Barry said you were here but...gone for a bit. Ported out, right? You're back!

[ At least being ported out means he's not straight off watching Eddie shoot himself. Small mercies.

He wonders if Eddie knows, but there is no good way to ask a guy that, is there? ]

Yeah, I uh. I went home for a little bit. I guess it happens to a lot of people. But holy crap, man, when did you get here?

[ Jay was still up for the evening, in his room and quietly testing the powers that he suddenly has back. The novelty hasn't quite worn off yet after so long in Earth-1 of nothing and the concept of throwing something across his room and dashing to catch it is still keeping Jay amused. Soon it will become old hat once again but for now it'll take a lot to wipe the grin off of the speedster's face.

Except for that noise downstairs. Jay can't claim to be an expert on the sleeping habits of other people in the house and if he speeds over to see one of his roomies sneaking peanut butter by the spoonful then he's not going to judge. It only takes a couple of seconds to get to where Cisco is, Jay slamming on the brakes efficiently enough as he spies who it is. Well, it was about time Cisco showed up and the grin is right back there on his face.]

And what time of the night do you call this?

[ Cisco was looking through leftover cartons in the fridge to see if Barry had left anything edible in the time that he'd been gone. It was looking pretty dire. Was Quickies open 24 hours? Did he really want to walk all the way out to the university for a burger?

Anyway, he was caught up in his own thoughts enough that Jay's voice startles him briefly. He breaks out in a grin pretty quickly, though. ]

—Jay! What are you— When did you get here!

About a few days ago. Not long enough for you to be wondering too hard on it. I think Barry's habit of being late rubbed off on me.

[ Jay knows for a fact back on Earth-1 he wasn't always around at the labs and well, he wouldn't want Cisco to feel like he's missed too much. Though as to where he's been isn't something Jay's too familiar with yet and he'll reach over to peer in the fridge, grimacing slightly.]

Looks like the fridge is going for the minimalist look. If you're hungry I can go pick up some pizza or something. [ Alright, so maybe Jay is itching for an excuse to go on a run.]

Hey, better late than never, man. Or, I dunno, maybe better never, if you're not into getting cross-universe kidnappings.

[ He shrugs and gingerly nudges a more-than-week-old carton of what once was general tso's chicken aside. ]

Yeah, it looks like Barry cleaned out most of my leftovers while I was gone. But not much around here is open this late.

Think I'm getting used to those.

[ There's an amused shrug before he picks up the carton of general tso's, recoiling as he sniffs at it. What was this, chinese food or an attempt at culinary warfare?]

Yeah well speedsters will do that to a fridge when it's unattended. Just point me in the direction of the place and I can go pick it up. [Jay pauses, raising an eyebrow at Cisco.] Or call it in for delivery.

Ha, I guess you would be.

[ He grins when Jay says speedsters, plural. ]

Dude, dude, did the Porter give you your speed back?

[There it is. Jay was starting to wonder if Cisco wasn't going to catch the subtle hint or two he'd been dropping. This was way better than just saying it outright because Cisco would understand what having superspeed in Heropa would mean to him. The grin is definitely infectious, even as Jay feels his sinuses just about collapsing from the aftermath of General Tso.]

No, they gave me flight.

[A beat.]

Yeah okay, they gave me my powers back.

[ He's tired, okay, cut him some slack. But he's beaming, and he laughs at Jay's flight joke. ]

Oh, man, that's awesome. Barry must be psyched, too. There was this whole thing last month and I was a speedster for like a week, and I could tell he missed having someone to run with when I got my normal powers back.

[semi-open]

Eddie + Barry; Introduction

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Cisco returning OTA 1/8-9

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backdated forever ♥

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